Cobra Classic SE Tour

nmerth,

Nice picture.

Thanks for the SOTD pics, Nick. It looks like you are having fun. [emoji6]

The Cobra is currently in transit from Tennessee to Arizona. The tracking number says I should get it on Saturday, so I'm looking forward to being able to take my time with it on Sunday!

The Cobra Classic gave a nice shave. Since getting my Mongoose, I would have to say that the Mongoose edges out the Cobra in comfort and closeness. But of course, YMMV.

I have and love my Cobra! I'm on the waiting list for the second batch of Mongoose. It's going to be interesting to see which I prefer. As of this moment though I'm digging my Cobra!

The razor, blades and assorted soaps are on the way to AZBronco. I really enjoyed my tour with the Cobra. I am also on the waiting list for the Mongoose razor and it's solely because of my experience with the Cobra. Thanks again for allowing me to take part guys!

I've used the Cobra for two shaves now. It was delivered Saturday morning, which was great since I hadn't shaved, yet, so I got to try it out right away. I used a Kai mild blade, since I generally prefer milder blades. My obvious comparison is to the Schick Injector I have so I held them up to each other. The angles of the two razors are almost identical, as is the amount of exposed blade. The Cobra is obviously longer by what I would guess as 50%. In that sense, it felt a lot more like using a straight with the longer blade. Obviously, the biggest difference is the weight as the Cobra feels pretty substantial compared to my Injector's plastic handle. In fact, I think the weight difference is causing me a little problem since I've gotten used to using a small amount of pressure with the Schick since it doesn't have enough weight to give a great shave by using zero pressure. Don't get me wrong, I haven't gotten any razor burn, and only one small weeper between the two shaves, so in that sense it's been good. I'm hopeful that a couple more shaves will help me refine the technique a little bit better so I can see if I can get awesome shaves or just good shaves.

I'll post another review after a couple more shaves and then I will be sending it on.

I just sent the Cobra to the next person on the list. I kept it for 5 days and stuck with the Kai mild blade. My final thoughts are that it is a good razor, but not great. It's still leaps and bounds ahead of carts, but not really any better or worse than a $17 Injector, $10 Gem, or $30 EJ89. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but I just couldn't get past the fact that someone could build up a nice collection of razors that all give excellent shaves for less than the cost of the Cobra.

Having said that, I loved the actual blade, so I understand the desire to put those blades in a handle that most guys are familiar with. I also have a straight and a shavette and am comfortable using those, so I plan to look closer at the Feather Artists or Kai Captain razors.

And thanks for making this possible! I thoroughly enjoyed my time using the Cobra.

Got the razor today, shaved with two days growth

Semogue Olivewood LE brush
Maggard Fougere Savage
Feather Pro blade
Nivea ASB

Great results. I'm a two pass + touchups shaver (and only one pass on the front part of my chin), and my cheeks/upper chin were BBS with a nice DFS elsewhere. My beard grows fast and thick, so this was an impressive run. One minor knick but that was when I was playing around with it a bit too much trying to angle the razor. So far things are looking very good, as it achieves R41 efficiency for me without needing to shave as carefully/slowly. In particular the chin area, where I tread lightly with the R41, is as easy as my milder DEs with much smoother results. If anything, it shaves so close I may need to back off a bit as a true BBS like I got on my cheeks always makes my skin a bit red/slightly irritated, no matter the razor/shaving technique (cart, DE, straight, ATG, no ATG, etc).

I was hoping I'd have the Goose by now for comparison, but it looks like at the soonest I'll get it after I send the cobra out. Either way, it's good enough to make me question using DEs; I also find the shave far far closer than what I could get with an injector, and the build is much sturdier than my GEMs. I'm interested to see how the blade holds up over 5-6 shaves.

After spending almost a week with the razor, I'm convinced most of the magic here is in the blades. I remember getting very close shaves with the AC, which I traded away because I could never get used to the combination of the kami+super sharp blades. The actual razor is a bit too aggressive for my taste considering the blades are so wide, but it gives ultra-close shaves.

Overall it was a good experience, and makes me even more eager to get the Mongoose. My biggest gripe with the Cobra isn't the aggression, more just the build quality and feel of the razor. The opening mechanism is clever, but just doesn't lend itself to feeling sturdy; when I'm paying a premium for a razor I want it to feel rock solid, which this doesn't. The Goose is a much simpler construction which I think will lend itself better to long term use.

The box is also out of the Feather Pro blades, but I recently ordered a pack of Pros and Supers off amazon so I will toss a few in the loader once they arrive tomorrow or Friday before sending off the razor.

I guess I am up next. I will be awaiting the arrival. I will do an honest, unbiased review, and comparison. I tend to compare most, against the Gillette Fat Boy.

It just arrived today. It was packaged well. It got a good scrubbing. It is in need of polishing out, it looks like it has been put on counters, shiny side down. There looks like there is a small spot, where some plating came off, on the underside, near the lever. It might come out with some buffing, but not by me. The razor had a nice weight to it. There were some Kai mild blades that were in the box, as well as a lot of sampler soaps. I will shave with the razor tomorrow.

DaltonGang said:

There were some Kai mild blades that were in the box, as well as a lot of sampler soaps. I will shave with the razor tomorrow.

Click to expand...

I just sent a package with some Feather Professional, Dorco and additional Kai Mild blades so members can try a few different blades should they care to.

Have fun.

Here is my impression of the Cobra. First, it is a nice, hefty razor. Second, the quality of the construction could be better, around the grip. It lines cut into the grip isn't uniform, and the plating is kind of globbed in and around the cuts. Not a fan of the shiny backing. It is very scratched up, being put through the pass arounds.
Now the main gripe. Looking at the blade stops, I noticed the blade rests above the stop, on one end, and barely even with the other stop.
This didn't effect the shave.
The shave took getting use to. This is a wide blade.
It isn't a smooth shaver, from what I experienced. Maybe it's the Kia mild blade. I will try a different blade, next time.
I am use to using, very sharp, Feather blades, so maybe this is why it doesn't feel right.

The main things I would change would be the blade stops, and grip cut quality.
I like the weight, and the shaving angle.
I don't like the price.

All told, a very close shave.
My wife tried it, on about a foot of one leg, the size and aggression scared her.

DaltonGang said:

Now the main gripe. Looking at the blade stops, I noticed the blade rests above the stop, on one end, and barely even with the other end.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the review, DaltonGang.

The only thing I wanted to comment on is the blade stops. The blade should be resting equally beneath both stops so that the blade is even. Obviously, this can give rise to another criticism as you have to be careful setting the blade in the "tray" AND ensure it stays there as you latch it. In my experience a blade that is not set appropriately can lead to less than ideal shaving conditions. It has happened to me a couple times on a sleepy morning and the shave was rough before I realized what was wrong.

P.S. The Feathers that are in the mail should scratch your itch for some sharp blades. The Kais are obviously sharp, but less so than the Feathers in my experience.

I tried resetting it several times. I will try to forcefully set them under the stops, the next time.